My Dad

I think I'll do a story on my Dad. There are so many anecdotes and "Dad" expressions, I need to weave them all together. Here's one: We're out for brunch. The waitress, a friendly girl with clear blue eyes, comes to take our order. Dad chats with her a minute, asking about her name (her nametag says "Charlie") and she explains how she's named after her grandfather, Charles. We order & the waitress leaves. Dad says, "Nice girl. She's bipolar, of course." Ummmm, OK. Here's another one: Dad, eating dinner: "Jack!" (my mother) "This is the best damn (fill in the blank: baked potato, corn on the cob, fillet, ice cream, apple pie....) I've ever had!!" In all seriousness. There is no in-between with him. No moderation. Growing up, whenever he heard a rock music song, he'd inevitably ask "When'd HE get out of jail?" He says he won the lottery when he married my mother (50 years next August). Since his heart attack last Fall he's exercising regularly for the first time in his life! He looks great and says he feels great. How can a doctor just be discovering the benefits of exercise!! When we were little he used to say we were "capolavoro", meaning "masterpieces." Now that I have kids I know what he means. I tell my kids they're my angels. He used to tell us we were "creme de la creme." No wonder we all have big egos. We all have kids, we all have long healthy marriages (as far as I can tell). I guess you have to give your kids a sense of self-worth and security so they make intelligent choices. What else? He's pro-hormone replacement & thinks the liberals are out to destroy this country. He holds people with PhD's in extremely low regard. He loves Italian cars & owns a bunch of them. People used to tease him that he named me after the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, but he claims he just loved the name "Juliet." They named me on day 5 after birth!!! My kids were all named before birth or on the day of. I do love my name. It makes me feel special!